Safi Khan – Soul Food Reliability and Authenticity
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AI: Transcript ©
We might do it when I didn't sell
it. I'm not gonna lie.
Alright. Inshallah, let's go ahead and, get started.
Alright.
Everybody.
You guys are, doing really, really well.
Really blessed 10 days. Obviously, the first 10
days of Dhul Hijjah.
And,
you know, we're coming up on quite literally
the best day, one of the best days,
if not the best day of the year
tomorrow,
which is the day of Arafah.
So, you know, we'll we'll we'll talk a
little bit about the the blessings of Arafah,
kind of sporadically through today's conversation,
because it's just such an opportune
time for us to really just maximize on
the gift that Allah gave us.
Anyone who has, like, a beating heart
would know that, you know, the the the
day of Arafat is a day in which,
you know, we are just to maximize
on everything that we can do that day
to have, you know, this hope of having
Allah, you know, forgive us for things that
we've done this past year. I always tell
people,
on Arafat, the way to
is to basically think about, like, your biggest
mistake that you made this past year from,
like, today
till, like, you know, till till, like, last
Arafat, till last?
Like, what's the biggest thing that that you
feel guilty about? What's, like, the biggest
source of guilt that's weighing heavily down upon
your shoulders?
And use that
to motivate you to fast tomorrow with the
utmost quality. Right?
That is gonna be the thing that's gonna
drive every single one of us. Right? Because
the expiation that the prophet
mentioned was the expiation of having you know
your your your your sins,
gone. Right? Your sins being expiated for the
year that already came and the year to
come.
So it's an incredible incredible opportunity. Right?
And and there's always that question about, well,
what if you fast every alfalfa? Right? Well,
like, if I'm fasting every alfalfa, then there's
those overlapping years as well. Because if it's
a year before and the year after, and
I fast next out of the as well,
then it's almost like a double because it's
coming the year the the year coming and
also the year the year before. So if
I fast next year, it'll cover this coming
year twice, basically. Right? So just think about,
like, how many times, like, Allah just gives
you that that like, if you just do,
like, the multiplication of it, it's it's an
incredible gift. Right? So it just motivates us
to kind of really utilize,
tomorrow as as well as we possibly can.
So
today, inshallah,
we are going to be doing a,
going over a statement of the the prophet
that is, extremely,
extremely beautiful.
And it also
kind of gives us very, very relatable advice
in the
topics of accountability,
you know, how to be an accountable person.
It gives you advice on how to be
reliable,
how to be a reliable person, a
a reliable resource, a a reliable friend,
that also gives you advice on how to
be authentic. Right?
How to have authenticity in your life because
that's something I think everyone's searching for. Right?
You don't wanna just be this kind of
like floating human being,
that lacks this idea of being like a
like a genuine authentic person. Right? Like, you
don't you don't want just wanna be a
performance your entire life, basically. Right? Don't you
don't want just wanna kind of be a
part of something because everyone else is a
part of it. You want to be someone
who has really authentic experiences
and
have the luxury of having a TV like
we usually do. I'll read out the hadith
and I'll translate it inshallah for everybody. So
the hadith that actually says
that the prophet
he mentioned
Okay? Very, very short hadith.
And this is found in the Muslim of
Imam Ahmed,
and and in some other books as well.
So this hadith basically translates out to
So he's he's saying basically that a person
who is a witness, a shahid, a person
who witnesses something.
Witnesses sees things
that a person who is absent just will
not see. Okay?
So when you read the statement, you automatically
are like, wait a second. Like, sure. I
get that. Right? Like, if I'm physically there,
I will physically see certain things that a
person who is not physically there will they
they just won't see.
So what's the point of this hadith? Well,
I'll throw out a question to every single
person here that'll kinda, like, jog a little
bit of your thoughts. So the question is,
what is the importance
of being present at certain events or situations,
and why do you think this hadith specifically
emphasizes
that there's, like, a special onus on people
who are actually there to witness certain things
happen versus people who just kind of, like,
hear about it? What's, like, the what's the
difference? What's, like, the what what what's the
reason why the prophet mentioned this? Anyone wanna
share anything?
Anything you'd like to share?
Yes?
Okay. Anyone anyone wanna share anything that that
what do you what what's the importance of,
like, physically and and just being present witnessing
something in your life versus just hearing it?
Anyone? You see it straight, so it's offensive.
Okay. So you see it straight, so it's
offensive. It's reliable. Okay. Very good. Anyone else?
Anyone else? There's multiple layers of this, by
the way. Anyone else?
It's a little harder to decipher. Right?
Anyone else have any Being there in person
witnessing something, what does that do for you?
What does that do for a person?
Man, no one's authentically saying anything, though. I
just heard about it. Right? I just I
think I got a forward for somebody. Right?
Someone texted it to me. Well, I'll I'll
help you guys out a little bit. So
one of the things that's really important is
this first word that you guys heard,
Right? A person who's a, a witness. Right?
We all understand, by the way, like, the
heaviness of witnessing something in Islam. Because if
you think about it literally,
the first pillar of our our of our
entire religion is what? It's called the the
Shahadah. Right?
So one of the most important things that
you in our religion is that your Islam
is built upon a testimony.
Right? It's built upon a testimony.
Because when you say
You are literally bearing witness by this statement
that follows that there is no god but
Allah and then the the prophet was his
final messenger. Right? And everything else is built
upon that testimony.
So like your salah is built upon it.
Your Ramadan fasting is built upon it. Right?
Your your your your zakat, your sadaqa, your
Hajj, all these other forms of worship are
built upon this idea of you witnessing
and not only witnessing, but testifying to this
this reality and this truth. Right? And this
is why, by the way,
people actually either there there's a strong recommendation
that when a person
does take the Shahadah,
right, they do become Muslim. Have you guys
ever noticed, I mean, in your masjids or
after Jummah or after certain prayers that a
person who's interested in Islam will actually come
up to the front and and and say
their shahada out loud in person in front
of everybody. What's the wisdom behind it? Because
you are trying to basically kind of just
create this this authenticity,
this reliability
that I'm a Muslim and all these people
now are they're responsible for knowing that I
uttered this in front of them.
This is what a shahada is that I
testify on this. Right? And, you know, if
we wanna be people that really do walk
the walk,
then the shahada cannot be something that's just
upon the tongue because that's chi. Right? Like,
if we just say, like, oh, yeah. I'm
Muslim.
Yeah. I'm Muslim. But then, you know, what's
really interesting is that sometimes the most, like,
sincere and honest people to us are non
Muslims. Like, so you're Muslim? Like, yeah. He's
like, but I thought I saw you. Like,
you're like, oh, yeah. I'm just kinda, you
know, still working on it. Right? Like, this
is, like, kinda the stuff that we say
because
those kind of experiences kind of just kind
of bring us back into reality. Right?
I I remember one time,
I was in school, and this is kinda
like when I first started to realize that,
I need to start to kind of, like,
taking my Islam a little bit more seriously.
I was in high school,
and,
you know, obviously, when, you know, people start
getting a little bit older, they start understanding
things a little bit deeper. And so somebody
was asking me a little bit about, like,
the the the details of Islam. And, well,
obviously, any person who teaches, you know, already
smart person who understands the the the the
the hierarchy and the the procedure of Islam
is that you teach people that 1st and
foremost, you believe in Allah and the prophet,
and then you then you start praying 5
times a day and obviously you go through
the pillars. So right when I mentioned the
salah, right, right when I mentioned the salah,
this guy basically is like, well, do you
pray do you pray the the Hur prayer
here? And I'm like, dang. Brother, relax. Right?
Throwing out allegations at me already. Okay? But
but it really brought into reality
this really important principle that, hey, man. If
you're gonna call yourself a Muslim, you have
to start really abiding by at least what
people say are the foundations. Right? Because there's
an authentic hadith by the way that says
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the people who
are considered
those who are friends of God. Right? The
of Allah
are those who are closest to him by
fulfilling their obligations.
That's how you start your relationship with Allah.
That's the first thing. And I remember something
that's really important that Sheikh Mikael actually I
don't know if anybody was here,
at roots in Ramadan,
but I did a session with Sheikh Mikael
actually in in in in Ramadan in in
April, and he was actually saying that there
has to be kind of a moment where
Muslims just say enough is enough.
I'm done kind of, like, posting about things.
I'm done, you know, like, retweeting things. I'm
done talking to people about things, and it's
time to actually do it.
Right? Like, a lot of people can get
motivated on social media. Right? Like, when we
see, like, a really inspirational post, like, you
guys see it all the time right now.
Like, everyone's, like, reposting every Arafah post possible.
Everyone's, like, oh my goodness. The day tomorrow.
Right? Jummah Arafa. Right? Entire years worth of
sins forgiven and next years as well. Right?
Let's get it. And then, like, some of
us will be the same people that just
kinda, like, sleep in all day on Friday.
So, like, for me, it kind of, like,
brings up this discomfort that I feel that,
like, man, like, I I know all this
stuff.
Obviously, I believe in it because I'm kind
of, like, pushing it out to everybody that
I know, but when it comes to it,
I'm not really doing the things that I
that I tell everybody else that I do.
Right? So this witnessing the shahada
is a very, very important thing to every
or it should be a very important single
thing to every single one of us because
it's the testimony on which we build our
faith. Right? So that's the first thing that
the prophet he mentions. Right? The second thing
is I want to share you something really
important. The second kind of lesson from this
hadith is really beautiful. So obviously every hadith
of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam it has
a context behind it. Right? We understand that
that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam whenever he
uttered a statement of his it was always
in a moment in which, you know, he
he felt it was necessary. It was a
moment in which it was, you know, needed
by people who are around him or whatever
it was. So this hadith, right, that a
person who actually witnesses an event sees things
that a person who is absent does not.
Why did the prophet say that? Like what
context was this kind of derived in?
So there was a time in which basically
where the prophet
began to kind of, like, send some of
his companions out to the other areas around
the Arabian Peninsula. And this is kind of,
like, a means of him really kind of
just
cementing the Islamic legacy
of of of like his life's work. Right?
Because truly, I mean, I want you guys
to really think about this because
the the the the legend and the legacy
that the prophet left was that after he,
alaihis salatu wasalam, would pass away, there would
be people like Abu Bakr and Umar and
Uthman and Ali and all these other people
Abdullah ibn Masood Abdullah ibn Abbas Abdullah ibn
Omar, so many and so many so many
companions that will basically carry on the work
of the prophet
Like, if your work lives and dies by
you, then really was your work, you know,
was it profitable?
Right? Like, I always ask this question. I
remember I was having a really sincere conversation
with somebody, like, a fee like, a couple
of weeks ago. You know, they were talking
about kinda, like, the college, you know, seeing
here at Roots and, you know, even the
high schoolers here at Roots, and they were
even saying they're like, like, what do you
wanna see in 20 years? Like, that's like
they they they asked me this question. And
I said something that, like, I I I
never thought about, but it just came to
me because it was it was something that
I really do sincerely wish. I said, well,
after I'm done here, I hope the person
who replaces me does it even better than
me.
Because that's the true sign of, like, a
successful,
you know, endeavor.
Right? And you should wish for that.
Like parents. Right? SubhanAllah. You know, like now
ever since we had our daughter, you know,
over a month ago, I I look at
her now. I'm like, man, subhanAllah. Like, this
girl is going to be, like, our
our hopefully our sadaqa jaria in this dunya.
Right? Like she will be the one that,
like, does good in in in our place
after we are long gone.
And she'll be the one that inshallah, you
know, follows through with the teachings hopefully if
we're able to raise her properly, she is
the one that will kinda carry on that
legacy.
So the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, he
he felt that reality.
That, like, after I pass away, Islam should
not stop.
So I have to send my companions to,
like, teach other people Islam. So he sent
Ali ibn Abi Taarib to Yemen
one time. Okay? He sent Ali, his cousin
Ali, to Yemen. And so obviously different cultures
have different kind of, you know, personality types.
Right? Every single country is different.
Every single group of people are different even
within countries or tribes that are different. So
Adi, he asked the and Adi was a
very meticulous person, by the way. He wasn't
just doing things because someone told him to
do it. He wanted to do it with
perfection. Right? This is what we call Ihsan
in Arabic. That if somebody asks you to
do something, you're not just trying to do
it to get it over with. You're actually
honoring that person's request by doing it to
the best of their ability. And not only
that, actually, you know, something that, you know,
our our elders taught us that when somebody
asks you to do something, you should do
it in the way that they would do
it.
Right? Like, if something like, if it like,
the growing up imagine, like, if if your
mother ever asked you to, like, do a
chore in the home,
like, did we just do it to finish
it, or did we do it the way
that our mother would do it so she'd
be cool with it? Right? Something to ask
ourselves that kinda keeps us honest. And so
Ali was very meticulous. So Ali, he when
he before he left, he asked the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wasallam, he says, you Rasoolallah.
He says, you Rasoolallah.
Should I just teach
Islam as you taught it to me to
these people?
Or should I go there kind of assess
the situation
and see what these people are like and
then kind of like, you know, figure out
which which way is the best delivery for
them. Right? And so because of that, the
prophet he says,
He says that
a person who witnesses something sees things that
a person who is not there does not
see does not witness. Right? So it was
basically his way of telling Adi to go
there first, assess the situation, and then sort
of start making your moves. Right? And this
is a huge lesson for every single one
of us, by the way. Like, a lot
of us, we kind of, like, go into
situations kind of, like, with our mind made
up. Right? We're like, yep. This is exactly
what I'm gonna say to this person. This
is how I'm gonna say it. I don't
care who they are. I don't care what
they are. I don't care where they're from.
I'm just gonna straight up say what I
feel like saying.
But then you get to certain people and
you're like, wait a second.
Like, I gotta I gotta slow down a
little bit. I gotta kind of, like, you
know, figure out what's the best manner
to to talk to this human being because
not everyone should be talked to the exact
same way. Right? And this is a prophetic
tradition. The prophet
did not speak to young people like he
spoke to old people.
Right? He did not speak to men and
women exactly the same. There are certain things
that are a little bit and it's not
in in a means of saying that, like,
oh, these people are, like, different. It's a
way of actually honoring them because you appreciate
who they are. Right? You appreciate where they're
from. You appreciate what they're what they're used
to. And he used to do this a
lot, by the way. The prophet was very
famous of, to to to be a person
when, like, a Bedouin came up to him,
like, he and they and they would call
out to him. He would, like, talk in,
like, the Bedouin jargon.
He was just, like, talking, like, slang Arabic.
Because if you, like, go up to, like,
a like, a random, like, dude from the
country and you're like, hey, sir. Welcome to,
our establishment. Right? Like, they'll be like, yo,
what? Like, who is this man? They don't
understand a word you're saying.
They have no idea what you're talking about.
Right? And it's like if you go up
to a really formal person,
a very, like, you know, like, a very
institutionalized,
you know, corporate mindset type of human being,
you're like, yo, what's up? Let me talk
to you a little bit about, like they'll
be like, what? Like, is this serious? Like,
there there is a moment in time when
a mature person starts to realize
that I need to kind of assess the
situation before I do something.
This is a huge Islamic principle
that I'm not just gonna do things without
thinking about it. Like, thinking before doing is
a very, very big principle in our religion.
Okay? So
that's another huge lesson. Now
another thing that's really, really cool about this
hadith. Right? It talks about, like, witnessing. Right?
That witnessing is a is is is is
very, very important in Islam.
What does and somebody said this, by the
way.
What does witnessing
do to you as a Muslim? Like, when
you witness something, what does that now bring
upon you? Anyone?
But what does it what what does it
bring upon you as a person now that
you've seen it with your own eyes? What
does that what does that do for you
as a Muslim?
Anyone?
Like, say for example, like, you see, like,
something that you weren't sure of and now
it's solidified as the truth. What does that
do for you as a Muslim?
It
makes it verified. Verified. It makes it verified.
Good? Good?
Legit? Okay. Good. So he gives you the
responsibility to prevent the situation that happened. Very
good.
He said now you have this word that
we know called responsibility.
Accountability.
Right? And I want you guys to think
about this. Right? I I give this example
a few weeks ago when it came to
Shaitan even.
Like, why why is Shaitan
such
such a horrible being?
He understood. He under he knows
that knowledge exists.
Right?
Like, this one thing for a person to,
you know,
at least in this dunya, to have never
witnessed Allah, have never even, like, heard of,
you know, Islam, not even ever heard of,
like, the prophetic message, not even heard of,
you know, anything remotely close to the Quran.
And they're like, yeah. You know, I heard
about Islam. It's like this and this and
this, and I'm gonna basically go ahead and
make my prejudgment about Islam. And I think
this is what Islam is, and I'm not
I'm not a fan of it.
That's another thing to know exactly what Islam
is.
And in Shaitan's case even see Allah,
converse with him,
have an entire dialogue with him, and then
make your entire existence
about misleading people away from the truth that
you saw.
That's why Shaitan has such a huge burden
on his shoulder
because literally you saw Allah with your own
eyes.
I'll give you guys another example even.
The the the the the previous
that
were on earth before the of the prophet
salallahu alaihi wa sallam, prophet Saleh,
prophet,
Hud,
prophet Lut,
prophet,
Nuh,
all these different civilizations that came and went,
what was the one
common,
you know, factor in all of them?
Why why were they destroyed?
What were they only destroyed after?
They witnessed what?
Miracle. They witnessed miracles.
They witnessed prophets of God. Have you ever
seen a prophet with your own eyes?
Probably not. Right? If you have, then we
need to we need to have some conversations.
How old are you?
But but but these people, they literally witnessed
their prophets. They saw their prophets walking around
in the community amongst them.
If your prophet saw that, you literally saw
miracles. Right? You saw people probably if you're
people of Noah, you literally saw miracles happening
in front of your eyes.
And these people denied and denied and denied.
And so
one of the reasons why these people were
destroyed was because
you know the truth, you witnessed it, you
saw it with your eyes.
And and and not only that you asked
for it.
Because that's, like, the real that that's the
that's the real hard part. Right? Is that,
like, you're you're kind of, like, unsure about
something and then you're, like, you know what?
Like, I I guess if I see something
that kind of sways me towards the truth
and sways me towards, like, what really happened
then I'm gonna believe.
And then you see that and you're like,
yeah. Well, I need something more. Right? I
need something more. It's like the Bani Israel
syndrome.
Like, I need more. I need more. I
need more. I I just I'm you're never
satiated.
You're never satisfied with with what Allah gave
you. Right? And this is why, by the
way, we say, you know, when it comes
to our our our lives
as Muslims,
like, man, when whenever whenever you see anything
from Allah, just accept it as as as
as Allah's Ni'mah. Right?
Whether it's, like, passing, failing, whatever it is.
Just, like, understand this is Allah in your
life, you know.
And and and and if you ever been
in a situation where you felt like Allah
is there with you, just know that there's,
like, this kind of this this idea of
accountability
now on your shoulders. Right? That you have
this and so because of that you have
to be grateful for it.
And so this is one of the one
of the other lessons that that that witnessing,
it also kind of breeds this idea of
accountability. Now there's this obvious question. Right? Now
and this is really interesting. I wanna get
y'all thoughts on this.
Witnessing
can happen
intentionally or unintentionally. I wanna agree with that
statement.
Like, if you're just kinda, like, just caught
up in the middle of something, like, a
situation that you didn't intend to witness,
and then there's this kind of, like, situation
where you go out looking for things. Right?
What's the what what's, like, the the the
how do you reconcile the the the situation?
Right? Because, like, sometimes you're just kind of
in a situation where you do happen to
witness something, and then there's another group of
people that literally go out there just looking
for things to witness. Right? And there's kind
of, like, a very, very interesting kind of
lesson that Allah gives all of us through
the Quran about this, by the way, where
he actually says.
It's in Surful Hujurat.
And and the prophet even further solidifies it.
He says
which basically means,
do not go out spying.
Don't go out looking for things. Right? And
don't go out just kind of, like,
intervening in in in in moments and in
situations that you don't belong in. Right? Because
as a Muslim,
like, if you are chosen to just witness
something as, like, a person in your life,
that that's just like, you can't stop. Right?
You can't stop it. Y'all ever been in
a situation where you're like, man, I wish
I didn't see that. Right? Y'all ever been
like that before, man. There was so many
times in my life where I'm like, man,
I wish I could unhear what I just
heard.
There's a lot of moments like that happen.
Right? Because then you you kinda have to,
like, figure out how process that information and
how to kinda handle it and what do
you do with it and all these different
things. Right? But then you realize if there
was a moment in which you just completely
unintentionally
were in the middle of kind of, like,
just un like, hearing something, it must be
like a plan of Allah just for you
to hear it. Right? Like like, you were
just doing your own thing. You're minding your
own business, and all of a sudden you
heard something or somebody came up to you
and confided in you. They were asking you
for for for for advice or help, and
you were just kind of the the the
the the recipient of a certain thing. But
there's a whole another thing called going out
and looking for certain things in your life.
Right? Like, we're just kind of nosy, and
we wanna kind of, like, under we wanna
witness things. Right? We wanna go around and
see, like, hey. What's this guy doing? What's
that person doing? What's this this person doing?
So the the scholars actually give us a
very very beautiful so Ibn Kathir, he actually
says something very interesting. He says when it
comes to Tejasus, right, that word
like don't go out spying. He says that
it means to search for something like going
out literally looking for something. And by the
way, this is a disease.
This is a disease of of of humanity,
by the way, where we, like, wanna go
out and we just wanna find out about
people. Right? And even goes even further to
to to prove that, like, some people when
they hear news that's, like, kind of boring,
they're not happy with it. You know? They're
not happy with news that sounds kind of
a boring. They're like, oh, like, hey. How
are you doing? Oh, you're doing good. Okay.
Cool. Right? And they're like, oh, yeah. How's
the conversation with you with with that guy
you caught up with? Yeah. It was okay.
It was alright. Right? He's doing okay.
But then when we go up to him,
we're like, hey. How are you doing? Like,
not so good. You know? Like, my family
is going through some trouble. Oh, really?
Tell me more about it. Right?
We just like, there there's this kind of,
like, part of the nuffs that is just
attracted to that.
We just want to hear it. We just
want to know more.
And one thing that we forget, like our
our our brothers here were saying, is that
the more you know, the more you're responsible
for.
Right? The more you know, the more you're
responsible for. Now I'm not just saying that
a Muslim should live the life under the
motto of ignorance is bliss. Right? Like, we're
like, yeah. Actually, you know what? I actually
never read that that verse about fajr prayer.
So does that really count for me? Like,
no. No. No. It does. Right? Like, that's
not what I'm talking about. I'm not gonna
be like, yeah. Like, you know, like, you
don't you don't have to fast in Ramadan
because you never took a class about fasting.
Like, no. You still have to fast in
Ramadan. I'm talking about, like, just going out
and and and and and just thinking that,
like, you know, oh, just because,
I didn't hear about it. I'm not like
no. No.
Going out and looking for things.
Because in Islam, we don't believe that just
information is is just information.
It's very valuable.
Right? It's very valuable stuff.
And you think, like, what's entertaining to you
could be someone's very, very
personal issue or personal challenge that they're going
through. Right?
And and this is why, you know, it's
very, very important. And and this is kinda
just like a side note here and just
kinda my advice to everybody is when it
comes to just kind of telling people about
things, it's just good to keep things generic
for people that we we're we're not too
close with. You know, we talked about this
with the last week about how, you know,
we're so close we're we're so quick to
trusting people so easily that as soon that
as soon as, like, we have one conversation
with somebody, we feel that, like, we owe
that person our entire life story. And that's
just not true.
That's just not true at all. That if
a person you just met, you know, you
don't have to tell that person your entire
life history
and the entire, like, you know, background to
all of your your your your man, like,
we we have this, like,
man. I'm sorry to rant about this, man,
but I I I saw it. I saw
a a a TikTok video, like, a few
days ago about a person who literally was,
like, that it it was just like a
caption basically, and they posted,
while everybody else in Ramadan was, like, going
through this, like, emotional spiritual renewal, I was,
like, sitting here not feeling a thing.
And, like, it has their name on it.
Their account has their name on it. Obviously,
there are faces on the video. I'm just
like, man,
those are things you should just kinda, like,
either keep to yourself for a certain time
or you tell people who you really trust.
You don't put it on blast for all
of publicity you see, and and we know
that weird TikTok algorithm is like,
man. It's like everybody in this dunya, right,
can witness that video at this point. Like,
there there are certain things that you just
don't need to tell everybody.
There are certain things that if you feel
the need to tell somebody, you tell the
people who you know can bring some benefit
to the situation.
And so to know that to not go
look out, you know, looking out spine for
things. Right? Now what's really interesting about Suraj
Al Hajjurat, by the way, is that he
Allah ta'ala, he actually says he says,
do not go out spying.
And after that, he actually talks about backbiting.
He talks about arriba.
You know why?
Because
when a person goes out looking for things,
goes out spying for things, goes out hunting
for information and news about other people, you
know what soon follows?
Other sins.
It's like it's like it's like a it's
like almost like a like like a snowball
effect
where, like,
initially, you're just kinda, like, going out and
you're just a nosy person. But because of
that nosiness, now you know a lot of
things, and it's hard for you to keep
that in because your intention in the in
at the end of the day was just
to kinda, like, start start start just kind
of, like, spreading stuff.
Right? So one of the things that we
understand when it comes to witnessing things is
that don't just kind of, like, go out
and seek
everyone's business and everyone's situation.
That's not what we do as Muslims. This
is not a part of our makeup. We're
not people who just go around snooping around
and and and hoping to people that like
and hoping to God that we just find
fun things to kind of like know and
think about. You know? I I always I
always tell people like,
you you know when like there's like always
like that normal like friend group conversation they're
like did you hear about that? Right? And
everyone loves it when everyone's on the same
page about the same gossip. They're like, you
heard about it? I did too. What do
you think? Right? You know, I like, as,
like, an old man now, I have a
really found newfound appreciation for, like, people just
like, yeah, I don't know about it yet.
I just don't know.
I'm like, man,
Allah protected you.
Like, Allah protected you from this garbage,
dude. Allah Allah protected you from it. He
doesn't want you to know about it. It's
not a part it doesn't it's not necessary
part of your life.
You don't need to know about it. Why
do you need to know that this girl
was, like, found in the mall the other
day doing god knows what and this dude
was out here doing it, like, why do
you need to know about that? Like, what
benefit does that do to you? Are you
actually gonna go up and offer to say
hi to this person? Probably not. You're probably
gonna tweet about it weirdly.
Well, you know what I'm saying? Like, it
doesn't do any benefit to you. So Allah
protected people. So, like, when when it comes
to kind of, like, knowing things,
start to kind of appreciate
the the the the innocence of just kind
of like being like, yeah, I don't know
about it.
I don't know too much about it,
you know?
And even if you do even if you
do know about it, know that, like, we
shouldn't just spread it.
Right? Because there's a part of the nuffs
that, like, feels really, really valuable when you
know something that somebody wants to know about.
Right? They'll they go up to them, like,
hey. So, like, you're really close to this
guy. So I heard, like, is that true?
You're nuts right now. You're like, yeah, man.
Just tell this dude. Right? Like, you're the
only person that knows about that. Right? You
feel good. Right? Like, that person told you
and only you. So now you have the
the the ability to tell so many other
people.
At that moment, the needs to be suppressed.
The needs to be told that, like, hey,
dude. Just because you know about this does
not mean that you need to go around
telling everybody else about it.
Alright?
So
then the last thing that's really important, and
I will mention this inshallah and we'll kind
of open it up for a little bit
of q and a, a,
is the the the the the crux of
this hadith
is about
this one kind of final lesson, which is
don't think that just hearing
or being passively
knowing or coming to know something is the
same as actually witnessing it in person.
Never ever think that. Right? There was,
there's actually a a verse in Surah Al
Naba where Allah Ta'ala he actually says,
Which basically translates out to
that a day will come and Allah is
talking about the day of judgment
where
the you guys don't know what the is
in Arabic by the in in the Quran,
anyone know? Like, whenever the is mentioned? Yes?
Jibril. Jibril. Very good. So whenever you see,
like by the way, it's it's really incredible.
So whenever you see,
like, like, it's always the angels and Jibril.
That just tells you kind of the status
of Jibril in in Islam because Jibril is
never
actually mentioned with the other angels.
Jibril is always mentioned separately. That just kinda
teaches you a little bit about his status.
And by the way, the same thing with
the prophet by the way. If you think
about like the nbia and then you have
Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam
You never call any other prophet Rasulullah.
Right? You think about it. You call every
other prophet, you know, by their name and
alayhis salam. Right? You call them, you know,
nbia of Allah. When it comes to the
messenger
you say
There's something unique about him. Right? Same thing
goes with Jibril. So Jibril so so Allah
says,
So they stand in a row together on
the day of judgment,
and none
will speak,
except those permitted by Allah.
And they will only talk about things that
they know.
SubhanAllah. Think about that y'all.
On the day of judgment, the angels will
literally come to testify.
And the angels will be standing in a
row, and the angels will be asked, like,
what do you know? What do you know?
What do you know? What do you know?
What do you know?
And everyone and by the way, these are
angels of God. Right? Like, what some of
the highest beings ever to be created
and some of the most knowledgeable beings to
ever be created, if you think about it.
Right? They see a lot of things. Right?
I mean, think about those angels on your
right and left. Right? And those homeboys are
seeing things that no one should see. Right?
I mean, like, they they the like, they
literally saw your life,
and Allah will ask them to testify.
And even they
will testify
exactly to what they know.
They will not utter one word that they're
not sure about.
Now think about us.
Now draw that contrast to us.
Like when somebody asks us about certain things,
are we people that, you know, we do
do we do we say more than what
we 100% know? Or do we just keep
it straight 100? Like, we're like, you know,
I'm only telling you things I 100% have
verified.
Or are we people who are like, because
we're so tempted,
we're so, like, we're we're we're we're so
drawn to this idea of just kind of,
like, just, you know, I want people to
like me.
So I gotta, like, give this person a
little bit more. You know what I'm saying?
Like, y'all ever had that conversation with, like,
some people in your life where, like, they
ask you about something and you really have
nothing for them? Right? They're like, yo, so
I need you to give me the the
the the down low about, like, that situation.
I know you know about it. You're like,
man, I gotta start making stuff up real
quick. Right? Because this brother is expecting me
to be, like, really knowledgeable about this stuff.
Right?
You're like, man, I gotta because I can't
walk I I can't help this guy walk
away thinking I'm I'm this dummy or, like,
I'm not close to this person, like,
and and and wallahi man, like, Islam. SubhanAllah
Shaitan is so, like, he's so he's so
manipulative because he will even do that with
your Islam.
He will even do that with your Islam.
He will be like, hey. Like, you know,
like, when this person asks you about Islam,
I know you don't really know too much
about it, but, like, just like make stuff
up.
Right? Make stuff up. There's a person that
asked you if it was a halal or
haram, just say what you just say what
you think.
Who cares?
That's what Shaitan will tell you.
And at that moment, it's your responsibility to
say,
I don't know.
I don't know.
I just don't know.
You know, like, some of, there's a famous
story of Imam Malik who
one of his students actually like, he he
asked him a question.
He asked them a question. Imam Malik, Rahimahullah.
Literally, Imam Malik. Like, one of the 4
imams that literally
were responsible for the the the the the
pillars of Islamic law.
Right? He was asked a question by one
of his students and he said, la Adri,
I don't know. But I will I will
I will look at it I will look
at it and I will come and answer
you tomorrow.
Okay? And so the day entire day passed,
and obviously, like, the student is, like, back
home, like, thinking about, like, this amazing answer
that Imam Malik is is gonna give him
tomorrow morning in class. He's like, yo, I
got this. Like, if Imam Malik tells me
that he needs a whole night to think
about an answer, then obviously, this answer is
gonna be the goat answer. Like, it's gonna
be, like, the best thing I've ever heard
in my life. He goes back the next
day to ask Imam Malik. He's like, yeah,
Imam, Yashir,
did you have a chance to to think
about the question I asked you? He goes,
I did. He goes, so what's the answer?
He goes,
Because I don't know. I still don't know.
And, like, think about us
who, like, man, compared to Imam Malik who's,
like, a mountain.
Right? Like, who are we?
We're basically, like, the the the hills of
Dallas. Right? Nonexistent.
Like, that was a joke, by the way.
I was like, no. It was gonna offend
it, man. Like, super offensive, like, tells people.
They're like, that's not nice at all, actually.
You know, like, we're nobody compared to people
like.
And we still have that audacity to be
like, yeah. You know, I'll just make something
up and kinda hope that it, you know,
it lands.
Right? I just hope that it lands. I
hope I hope that this works. If you
say, like, I'd rather be full in front
of my, like, students than live for a
lot. Mhmm. SubhanAllah. SubhanAllah. Yeah. I've I've heard
of it, but but, yeah, I'll I'll but
that's powerful.
Right? That that that that I'd I'd rather
look like Akram just kinda mentioned it. I'd
rather look like a like like a person
who doesn't know in front of my students
than being a liar in front of Allah.
That's like a that that that's an incredible
statement. Right? So that's really really important. Right?
And,
one of the the last things is and
and we'll, you know, finish up with this,
is the gravity
of speaking on something
that you could be wrong about due to
your lack of validity.
Like speaking about something that mislead somebody.
Like, subhanAllah, how
detrimental can that be. Right? Like, that can
ruin lives. You know? That can ruin people's
lives. That can ruin people's like just their
their their their sanctity,
their their mentalities, it could ruin things for
them if you speak on something that you
don't know about.
And this is why by the way in
in in Surat Al Hujurat,
you know,
He says, oh people, do not assume much
because
some of those assumptions may be sinful.
Like, don't just, like, go off of whims.
Don't just speak off of whims.
Like, think about what you're saying.
Because if, for example, if, like, let's say,
Omar. Right? This is my Omar. If Omar
comes up to me and he's like, hey.
So, like, I heard about this and this
and this about that person over there. And
for me, I'm not really too sure. I
just heard from somebody else that something happened.
I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna, man, you know
what happened, bro? It's crazy stuff, man. Like,
subhanallah, may Allah help that brother. Right? Like,
that's the false piety.
And and in reality,
it was what I just told Omar was
so far from the truth
so far from the truth.
And what I just did was tarnish the
rep of a brother who didn't even know
that we were talking about him.
And so as as a Muslim, we just
should be un okay with that.
We just should be we we should be
very uncomfortable
about that.
That, like, everybody is born with this kind
of honor and dignity. Right? And to kinda
just, like, talk about things without knowing about
it is very, very, like it's very
unbecoming of a Muslim
that we're so easily throwing people's dignity away
just because I like to talk about people.
Right?
So
make sure that we verify things before we
say and this is by the way, y'all,
and I'll kinda mention this. I I really
don't wanna mention it, but I think this
will really drive it home.
In in Surat Anur
in Surat Anur,
Surat Anur is very heavy because Surat Anur
talks a lot about, you know, just kind
of,
like chastity
and and and and making sure that, like,
you do things the right way in Islam.
And there's a verse in Surah Al Nuh
that actually talks about the the the seriousness
of a person
who basically,
accuses someone
of doing something haram and specifically in this
ayah itself, it's talking about adultery.
It's talking about witnessing adultery,
and Allah ta'ala he actually says,
He says those who accuse,
like,
chased people,
chased women, like people who are like, have
dignity and honor and they didn't do anything
wrong, and they accuse
those people
of of committing things and and and then
committing haram
without producing
4 witnesses,
then for them is a severe punishment.
And the punishment that's actually verified in the
Quran is actually 80 lashes.
It's literally says in the Quran that if
you accuse somebody without 4 valid witnesses,
it's there's punishment for you.
Why?
Because
if you're wrong,
you're ruining that person's existence.
Right? You're ruining that person's life.
And and and by the way, it's kinda
getting a little bit more technical for you
guys.
Specifically in Islam, when it comes to this
specific aya, when Allah is talking about, like,
witnessing this idea of zina, like, if you're
gonna accuse somebody of that, you actually have
to physically see it.
Four people physically see it.
Other than that,
stop stop stop doing it. Stop talk stop
talking to people, stop spreading stuff.
Because if you are wrong, you're you're you're
ruining something, you're ruining somebody.
Just just killing somebody's entire life.
So this is why, you know, in in
in short, the prophet he mentioned this very
famous statement,
that that that, you know, a person who
witnesses something sees things that a person who
does not witness something doesn't see. And so
just kinda giving you guys 3 lessons to
kinda take home with you today. Number 1
is
knowing the weight that testimony holds in in
our faith that, like, when you are called
to testify,
to witness something, it's a really, really big
deal y'all. Don't just take that stuff lightly.
You know, like, these oaths that we make,
like, you know, when we say, like, wallahi
and stuff like that, man. I'm super proud
of that, bro. I'll tell you what. Like,
the amount of wallahi's I heard in my
life, bro, I'm like, dang, bro. Like, I
some of y'all gotta go to Hajj at
least once in your life now because I
don't know if that was true. You know,
like, I'm not sure what you what you
talking about. Then also, like, I'm just gonna
be real with you guys. Like, an out
of bounds ball call is not a Wallahi
worthy.
You know? Like, all these dudes are cracking
up right now because they know they're guilty
of it. They're like, well, that ball was
inbounds.
Well, I'm like, yo, relax, dude. I trust
you. If you're gonna say, well, just take
the ball, man. Like, I I I'm gonna
give it to you. Like like, we need
to understand the gravity of of of of
of this, you know, like, Assam and and
and and odes and all these different things
in Islam are very, very happy. Right? Like,
your entire religion, your religious
identity is built off of a shahada.
Right? So when we testify on things, it's
like it's it's very, very for real. Right?
Number 2 is understanding that we shouldn't seek
out news and information of people just kind
of because we're bored. Right? Like, don't go
out looking for things. This is not a
it's not something that is characteristic of a
Muslim that that that they just wanna go
out and just kinda find out things in
their life. That's not something that we do.
So that's number 2. There's you really, really
remember that that, like, you know, if you
if you happen to be a witness to
something because Allah puts you in a situation
where you should be a witness for it,
rightfully a witness for it, that's that's one
thing, but don't go out looking for it.
Don't go out seeking these positions. Right? Man,
it's hard nowadays, man. SubhanAllah. You know?
It's hard because, you know, we we heard
of narrations of even, like, Abu Bakr as
Siddiq, like, refusing to be
in positions of power. Right? Like, he didn't
want it. And now you have, like, people
like, hey. Vote for me, your next MSA
president. Right? Because, like, my opponent sucks. Like,
what?
Like, relax, dude. Like, what what what is
going on here? Like, because we just live
in this culture of, like, just, like, competing
with each other
over positions of power. Like, we see it
every 4
years, you know, on these, like, these giant
circus entertainments called the the the national debates.
Like, it's it's it's embarrassing.
Right? Where people are literally slandering each other,
literally, like, insulting each other, literally killing their
each other's dignity just because they want a
position of power.
It it it it it's it's incredible to
see. And as a Muslim, this is where
the moments of Islam kinda comes up to
you and you're like, man,
man.
Like, I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm
not a part of that culture.
I'm not a part of that culture. Like,
I'm not a part of this culture where
it's like I I seek this type of
attention. Right? Like, if I'm put in this
situation where Allah wants me to be in
it, I'll try I'll I'll try to make
sure that I do honor by it, but
I don't wanna be in that position.
Because I know that when I'm in a
position like that, I'm now in I have
ownership and responsibility over it.
Like you know
that a per like you know,
like, you know that a brother or sister
is suffering? What are you doing about it
now?
You know that your neighbor is hungry?
You can't go to sleep now.
The hadith.
Exactly.
And it's all based off of knowledge. The
hadith literally says, if you know your neighbor
is hungry, you literally cannot you you you
you have to feed them.
It's knowledge, man. Like, when you know about
things you you you have to act on
it now as a Muslim. Right?
There was actually,
there was really interesting I don't know if
I told you guys this really interesting story
in in the life of Omar Ibn Khattab.
So Omar one time was basically,
he was, he he he was in charge,
Amir al Mominin,
and
he was,
he he he obviously, Omar Ibn Khattab. You
know? One one of the really special thing
about Omar Ibn Khattab was that Omar also
lived that life before Islam, so now he,
like, hated it after. Right? So, like, he
knew, like, Omar was a guy that, like,
he used to and and Omar even, like,
talks about this himself. That's why I'm even
mentioning is that he used to really struggle
with things like alcohol and all these other
things that were obviously,
eradicated, you know, post,
post post, you know, becoming Muslim. And,
one time, Omar was walking out in the
street after he became Muslim,
and he, you know, saw from outside,
you know, in the street a man who
was looked like he was drinking
in his home. And so, he, like, he
he he, like, besides himself. Right? Like, what?
Look. Look. Look. A Muslim. Are you kidding
me, bro? Like,
you don't
like, literally, I'm, like, the first generation of
Muslims after the process. I'm, like, what are
you doing, bro? Like, you know what? 2022,
if we catch a Muslim doing something shady,
we're like, alright. You know what? Like, also
our standards have really dropped honestly, but, like,
we'll deal with it. Right? Like, if a
person is a Muslim caught doing something haram,
like, you know, we'll explain them nicely about,
like, how it's not good for you and
stuff like that. Amr was like, man, the
prophet was, like, here, like, 5 years ago.
What are you doing?
So he saw this guy drinking in his
home and he, like, came into the guy's
house. He, like, took the drink. He, like,
he, like, slapped it out of his hands.
Like, what are you doing? Don't you know
that's haram? And the guy was, like, obviously,
partially, you know, if he was, you know,
intoxicated or not. He was like he's like,
Omar, you know, you I could have been
doing one thing that was haram, but you
just did 3 things that were haram.
And I was like, what are you talking
about?
And the guy's like, well, first of all,
when you saw me from outside, you immediately
assumed that I was drinking.
That's the first thing. You immediately assumed that
I was drinking.
That's your first mistake.
The second mistake
is that you came into my house without
permission.
You came in.
You came into my home without permission.
And the third thing is you you you
you you treated me unkindly.
You you you you you you you smack
whatever you you smack out of my hand.
Now the actual funny part of the story
is actually he was drinking alcohol.
But but but
but nonetheless
nonetheless, I mean, I'm a smart guy. Right?
He's like, no. Listen, bro. I know what
you're doing. Right? But but the but the
real but the reality is, I mean, I'm
not understood.
I'm not understood. He goes, no. Although I
was right about you,
I should not have done what I did.
And it takes a really big person to
admit that.
A really big person to admit that. Even
when they know they're right. And this is
why, by the way, there's there's a hadith.
Right? That a a per a person who
leaves an argument knowing that they're right, there
will be a palace waiting for them in
paradise.
Leaves an argument knowing that they're right.
And a part of that mentality is knowing
that even if I'm right, there may be
a part that I'm wrong
in. I cannot be fully right.
A human being can never be fully right.
There may have been something that I could
have done better.
Even the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam used to ask Allah ta'ala for forgiveness.
Like, think about that y'all. Like, it puts
things into perspective. Like, if, like, the greatest
human being that ever walked this earth had
things to ask Allah for forgiveness for, who
are we?
Who are we?
And so
that's a it's it's a it's a really
beautiful lesson. And the third and last thing
that, you know, I want everyone to kinda
take home with them is the understanding that
witnessing with the with the eyes, like, being
present is something that is
more,
you know, kind of reliable and authentic than
just kind of passive knowledge that you come
about. And and and I'll well, why I'll
share this last thing with you guys, man.
We are in
a really dangerous position in in in in
human history to kind of get caught up
in that culture.
Man, it's so easy to just know things
right now.
We just know things.
Like, I want you guys to pause for
a second and ask yourself,
what things in your life did you believe
when you heard it the first time?
Like, through a post on Instagram or a
tweet that you saw or, like, a text
message even or whatever it was, like, immediately
when you heard it, you're like, oh, man.
That must be true.
And we're we're in, like, the heat of
it because,
like, information has never been so accessible.
Like, before to hear, like, another person's news
it, like, strap up your horse, like like,
ride for, like, 10 miles
through, like, the heat of the the desert
and, like, kind of be, like, figuring out,
like, what's actually going on with this person.
Now you can just hear about it in
a tweet.
Right? And it's a really tempting thing to
kinda just want more and more and more
and more. But then what you become is,
like, the shell of a person who doesn't
really have authentic experiences. All you do is
just read stuff on your phone.
You never, like, have these, like, authentic experiences
with people.
Like, sometimes, like, the most, like, well informed
people are, like, the most, like, antisocial people
because, like, they actually don't like speaking to
people. They just like reading it passively.
You know? And Islam has never been like
that, and it will never be like that.
There's a there's there's really a person, subhanallah,
man. There there there was a person who
who who literally,
you know, in one of my classes that
I teach during the weekdays,
she was, like,
asking about something that was a little bit
more kind of, like, controversial.
And she was like, well, I heard, like,
in the Quran that, like, it's only this
and this and this. And I literally presented
to her 8 ayaat, like, 8. And by
the way, if I can quote 8 ayaats,
I'm like, anybody can do it. Like, I
literally quoted 8 that was, like, a complete
contrary to, like, what she actually just said.
And she goes, oh, I didn't know that.
I said, where'd you hear about that? Oh,
I heard about it from a friend.
Like, what like, that's, like, your level of
of of of of, like, dedication to, like,
verifying your your your information.
Oh, I just heard it from a friend.
Like, there has to be a level more
when it comes to Islam. And that's why,
by the way, why it said in the
Quran,
When it comes to when a deen,
it you have to be what we call
a
A means a person who's sincere. You do
right by the deen.
Like, you don't treat the deen like you
treat everything else in life, you know. Like,
when I ask somebody a question about, like,
where the nearest, like, coffee shop is, like,
it's great, hamdulillah, you know, like, I'd like
to know about it, but there's a whole
different level
of of of dedication when I ask somebody
a question about Islam.
There has to be something different about it.
Like, if I if I if if I
tell a guy that, like, Dunbro's is, like
like, 2 blocks away, it's actually 5 blocks
away, Like, may Allah forgive me for ruining
this man's night, but, like, it's a whole
another thing if I if this guy asked
me a question about the din, I'm I
completely mislead him about that.
That's why Allah ta'ala says Right?
So
just a few important wisdoms to kinda take
away from this statement of the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam. We ask Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala to make us of the people who
are, you know, authentic people.
We treat the the religion the way it's
supposed to be treated. We make sure that
we verify news and and information
before we accept it and and even pass
it on if it's necessary. And we ask
Allah
to make us of the people
who treat this deen with the dignity,
with the honor,
with the the the the the nobility that
it deserves. And we ask Allah
that if we were ever people who participated
knowingly or unknowingly
in in in falsifying information
or in passing along things that would hurt
other people without our knowledge or whatever it
was. We ask Allah to
forgive us for that that mistake,
and we ask Allah
to make us people who are in his
pleasure and under his happiness and under his
mercy.
Everybody. Thank you so much for coming out
to soulful.
We will be,
back here next Thursday with, another hadith of
the prophet
Obviously, inshallah, tomorrow's Arafah. Please, please, please, I
I make this dua for myself that I'm
able to, you know, do justice to the
day of Arafah.
There there's a narration that literally says that
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, there's no day in
which Allah Ta'ala releases people from the clutches
Jahannam is written like Jahannam is written for
them. These people will be given,
like, expiation from Jahannam because of this day.
So make dua y'all. Make dua that that
we take advantage of it. Right?
Inshallah. I'll see you guys, next Thursday. And,
I believe we pray
in, like, another 5 minutes or so, Inshallah.
842. So, yeah, we actually got, like, exactly,
like, 4 minutes. So, Inshallah, if you need
to do, go do, and we'll come back
here, and then there's obviously Costco pizza for
the people who didn't get to eat,
after salah is over.
Yeah.
Have a good day, bro. When when they
ask
Yeah.
But then you send him to the coffee